Stadium sold out for Futsal Whites’ opening game at FIFA Futsal World Cup

New Zealand will play their first-ever game at a FIFA Men’s Futsal World Cup in front of a 4,000-capacity crowd.

The Universal Sports Complex in Andijan, Uzbekistan, is a sellout for Sunday’s group D match between the Futsal Whites and Libya.

New Zealand go into the match rated #19 in the FIFA world rankings while Libya are #50.

The match will be streamed live and free to New Zealand by FIFA+ (see link below), when the action gets underway at 10pm (NZT).

“I think we have a really good chance against them,” New Zealand winger Jordi Ditford told FIFA.com.

“It is a must-win game. We’re all eyeing that game up as one we need to get a result out of.

“Then, if we play our hearts out against the other two teams, maybe we can bag a result or scrape through as a best third-placed team. That first one is really do or die.”

Libyan defender Husam Al Werffali said: “The team is in high spirits. We are highly confident of pulling off the win, getting Libya’s first victory in the history of the tournament.”

New Zealand head coach Marvin Eakins said his squad had been working towards the first tournament game for quite a while.

“We hope we get the tactics right, the guys are in the right frame of mind and using our experiences from our recent games to kind of build and start this World Cup on the right foot,” he said.

As for the team’s goals, Eakins said: “Our goal for this (tournament) is to get out of the group and be the first senior New Zealand team to do so at a World Cup.”

Main photo: Futsal White Micky Malivuk.

Get to know Malivuk and other Futsal Whites in this four-minute video recorded by NZ Football when the players were presented with the national team shirts.

Meet the Futsal Whites

Tournament draw

# indicates current rating in latest FIFA world rankings

Group fixtures

Game to be played on Sunday September 15, 2024 (NZT)

New Zealand v Libya
Andijan Universal Sports Complex, Andijan, Uzbekistan, 10pm (NZT)

Game to be played on Thursday September 19, 2024 (NZT)

New Zealand v Spain
Andijan Universal Sports Complex, Andijan, Uzbekistan, 3am (NZT)

Game to be played on Sunday September 22, 2024

FIFA Futsal Men’s World Cup

New Zealand v Kazakhstan
Humo Arena, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 12.30am (NZT)

About the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup

The six group winners, six runners-up and the four best third-placed teams will go into a Round of 16 knockout stage.

The winners go forward to quarter-finals, before sudden death semi-finals and the final.

Host cities

The three host cities for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the first FIFA event to be staged in a Central Asian country, have been decided, with the capital, Tashkent, being joined by the ancient Silk Road trading centre of Bukhara and the city of Andijan in the Fergana Valley.

Most participations at a FIFA Futsal World Cup

Not including Uzbekistan 2024

This story was first published on Sunday September 15, 2024

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